


Let Me Be Your Hero, Just Once

by Arcanus760



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Diego Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Dysfunctional Family, F/M, Good Brother Ben Hargreeves, Good Brother Diego Hargreeves, Good Brother Klaus Hargreeves, Good Brother Luther Hargreeves, Good Brother Number Five | The Boy (Umbrella Academy), Good Sister Allison Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, M/M, Multi, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Suicidal Thoughts, Vanya Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Villains
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2020-07-29 10:54:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20081011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arcanus760/pseuds/Arcanus760
Summary: Luther never had the accident, never became part ape, and never got sent to the moon. Diego still went to the police academy. Allison still is an actress, but she doesn't have a daughter. Klaus, well, Klaus was still Klaus. Five was missing. Ben was still alive. And Vanya…Vanya has been gone for years…





	1. Changes

**Author's Note:**

> Pardon me if this kind of sucks. I had an idea for a scene in my head and had to write it down. This is all of the other stuff I wrote out to get the story where I needed it for my idea, so it isn't as good as it could have been. Also posted of ffn. Also, spacing is weird.

Luther never had the accident, never became part ape, and never got sent to the moon.

Diego still went to the police academy.

Allison still is an actress, but she doesn't have a daughter.

Klaus, well, Klaus was still Klaus.

Five was missing.

Ben was still alive.

And Vanya… 

Vanya has been gone for years… 

The Umbrella Academy had been a constant fixture in the news for decades now. The six, now five, incredible children with superpowers were well known throughout the state. Their incredible deeds would be remembered for years to come. This time though, they were not on the front page, the whole page was saved to commemorate the death of Sir Reginald Hargreeves.

While the Umbrella Academy was still together, the Hargreeves were falling apart. Cracks had started forming between them, Luther and Diego's constant contest to see who is best, while improving them in the field, has started breaking the once brotherly camaraderie that the two had shared. Allison's constant trips to continue her film career, whether it was a new shoot or her next premiere, has started to isolate her from the family. Klaus and Ben, still close as ever, have been drifting away from the "family business" because, as Ben said, he didn't sign up for this, he was sick of always having to go hurt people and Klaus, who has been sober for a year or two now, thanks to Ben, was starting to agree.

Yet here they all were, in the academy, for the funeral of the man who made them what they are today. What surprised them most about the day was the reappearance of their lost brother. He kept mumbling something about coffee. Five had been acting weird since he had returned, but they probably would too if they had apparently been in the future for 45 years. The funeral wasn't much, but then again it was still better than the man deserved.

It was then that Five decided to breach the silence with a question they all feared.

"Where is Vanya?"

The question hung in the air for a few minutes freezing the family in their tracks.

Luther finally turned around, "She disappeared a few years after you did."

"And you didn't try to find her?" Five snapped, exasperated. His face was twisted in red hot anger.

"We tried Five! We couldn't find her! You know how good she was at not being seen! She'd be in the same room and no one would know until we accidentally bumped into her!" Diego yelled back. He couldn't keep his voice from shaking.

"She put her book out to try and get us to stop looking by hitting us where it hurt," Allison tried and failed to keep the hurt out of her voice, "But we never stopped."

"AND?!" Five yelled. He couldn't believe this, they were the god damn Umbrella Academy, and they couldn't even find one girl.

Ben decided to take a more calm approach, "we tried everything Five, she's gone."

"We thought she would at least come back for the funeral. Dear old Reggie was a monumental prick, but he was still our Vater after all." Klaus said with a flourish.

"You're all useless," Five grumbled walking back toward the academy. Luthor made an attempt to stop him, but Five just teleported past him.

"Did not miss that," Luther grumbled.

… 

It wasn't until much later that Five reappeared in the academy. He was bleeding from a cut on his left arm. His family ran to his aid immediately, which he appreciated more than he let on, it almost made him smile, until they decided that this would be the perfect time to corner him about what happened, now and in the future. He only had one option left.

"The world ends in eight days."

He waited for the choir of gasps and exclamations to end before he continued.

"I decided to stop that from happening, but my previous employers aren't too happy about that decision."

Luther, ever the daddy's boy, took this as a call to action, "This is it! This is what dad had been training us for! We have a new mission!"

"Slow down," Ben, ever the voice of reason, "How do we know that just having you back here doesn't change things."

"If only that was all it took to avoid the apocalypse," Five sighed, "Trust me, the apocalypse is still coming and you all need to focus or else the world goes bye bye."

"Oh, he's just so adorable, '_ the apocalypse is coming, the apocalypse is coming' _" Klaus mocked, "Really, how are we gonna stop it if it already happened once?"

"He makes a good point," Diego agreed.

"Because I'm here," Five proclaimed.

"Told you," Ben laughed, victorious.

"Not just because I'm here, you idiot, but because I know how these people operate, we can find out who causes the apocalypse and stop them," Five started laying out his plan. First step, finding the owner of the prosthetic eye he removed from Luther's corpse. The rest of the all collectively turned pale.

"Did I forget to mention? You all are dead in the future."

… 

It took awhile for the siblings to recover from that information. As it turns out, finding out that you are all going to die in a little over a week is a sobering thought, once it finally sets in that is. Apparently Five decided it was the perfect time to jump away from the shocked siblings.

"Master Luther," Pogo's voice sounded over the speakers, "There is a new mission."

Klaus shot up, "Wonderful! Something to take our minds of all of this dark, depressing crap!"

They all rushed off to get their gear and suits almost as quickly as Five had disappeared.

"Good luck, children!" Mom called as they were leaving.

"Thanks Mom!" Ben shouted, quickly followed by a "Love you mom!" From Diego.

… 

It was another corrupt politician, stealing from the people to make herself wealthy while lining the streets with weapons and more drugs than even Klaus could handle, allegedly. They were the kinds of people who thought they were above the law, the cops couldn't touch them, that was where the Umbrella Academy came in.

They arrived at the building and busted straight through to the office. What they found waiting wasn't the evil they were expecting, instead, standing behind the desk, was a person dressed in a pure, almost blinding, white suit, its face covered by a white motorcycle helmet with a black visor, and a black case slung across its back.

"White," Diego growled. His hands reached for his knives.

They had met this person on multiple occasions over the past year. As always the figure walked forward and extended its hand toward the group, specifically toward Allison. 

"Leave now, you know you can't win, just get out of our way," Luther commanded.

White had never beaten them in any of their past encounters, but that never stopped White from getting in their way. See, White had powers sure, but they were nowhere near as refined and powerful as Reginald Hargreeves had made his precious Umbrella Academy's.

"You're asking for it," Diego snapped, grabbing a dagger and throwing it aiming for White's heart.

Unlike every other time, where White would be forced to dodge, the knife gracefully, and harmlessly passes in front of White before embedding itself in the wall.

"What the hell!" Diego's startled shout broke the rest of the siblings out of their trance. White's hand retracted as Luther rushed forward throwing a punch towards the figure. His fist stopped an inch from White's face before Luther was blown back into a wall.

"Shit! Luther!" Allison rushed to help him.

Ben stepped forward releasing The Horror. The tentacles lashed out against White, but they missed, practically sliding off of the figure in front of them. Ben was then thrown into Diego knocking them dangerously close to the window, did they mention that this was the 42nd floor?

"Klaus!" Ben shouted trying to get up, "Do your thing!"

"I can't! There are no ghosts here! It's almost like they're afraid!" Klaus shouted back before adding, "I might be scared too, maybe, a little bit."

White took a small step forward. Allison quickly stood up, "I heard a rumor-"

White snapped their fingers and Allison suddenly found no sound escaping her throat, she couldn't speak. She started panicking, _ what's going on, I can't talk, for how long, what if I never can talk again? _

"COME ON!" Luther shouts, not an ounce of fear in his hardened features, "Everybody get up, we can win, we've done this before."

"NO!" Diego calls back, in afterthought he wonders when the wind got so loud that they had to shout to hear each other, "He's more powerful than last time, nothing we're doing is working! We need to retreat regroup and come up with a new plan!"

"Dammit, I'm Number One and I say we fight!"

"Oh, pulling the high and mighty Number One card again! Guess what! Dad's dead! No one cares what number you are!"

"SHUT UP! BOTH OF YOU!" Ben shouts back, sick of their petty squabbling, "We are injured and are clearly under prepared! Diego's right, we need to head back!"

Allison frantically nods her head and Klaus is already running for the exit before turning around and dragging Ben with him, muttering something like, "You know I could never leave you behind."

Luther reluctantly gives in and puts himself between his siblings and White as they run toward the exit. As they are leaving they hear a voice, it sounds almost unreal, fake, like an echo.

"You can still fix yourselves, you can still be heroes."


	2. Time is on My Side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five doesn't have time for his family's drama. Their first loss to White has unexpected results. Hazel and Cha-Cha make an appearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is the doctor guy from Meritech's name really Mr. Bigs, or was that Klaus just being Klaus? Either way, his name is now Mr. Bigs because I don't feel like changing it.

By the time they got back to the academy Five was already waiting for them.

"Where have you idiots been?" He didn't think they'd take it well, but to just leave? This was important dammit.

"Oh Five, I'm so happy to hear you're so concerned for your poor siblings, I'm fine by the way," Klaus said flopping onto one of the couches.

"Oh my, what happened to you?" Pogo asks, walking into the room, concern practically written in neon on his face.

They finally took the time to look at each other, noticing how bruised they all were a few scratches here and there, but Luther was by far the worst out of the five of them.

"We were attacked, Pogo," Luther answered, his face turned grim, "Somebody knew we were coming."

"But … how could that be, that's practically impossible," Pogo seemed almost fearful.

"It is possible," Luther stated.

Allison seemed almost scared to speak up, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just spit it out Number One," Diego turned on him, fury in his eyes.

"What?" Klaus and Ben seemed almost equally confused.

"He thinks one of us is a mole," Diego stated flatly.

Luther looked down almost shamefully.

"Is that true Luther?" Ben looked at Number One, incredulous.

"Look all I know is that if you followed my orders, none of this would have happened!" Luther tried to defend himself. It clearly wasn't helping the situation.

"I can't believe this," exasperated Diego storms out of the room.

"Diego are you alright sweetie? You're bleeding!"

Startled Diego turned to the voice, "No Mom, I'm okay, don't worry."

"No, come with me, I'll patch you right up and then you can help me make dinner." Her smile was always so bright and warm, Diego couldn't say no.

"Okay Mom," Diego smiled trailing after their mother.

… 

Five wasn't ever patient, even in his old age. Hell, his power was practically designed for impatience, he could literally jump almost anywhere he wanted, and he definitely didn't have time for this. Luther was the only one left in the room after whatever just happened, so he would be the quickest to enlist.

"Luther," Five called, "I need your help with something."

Luther stared at him for a few seconds.

"It involves the apocalypse."

They found themselves outside the Meritech building. They quickly found themselves in Mr. Bigs office, just like last time he was being unhelpful as usual. It got quite annoying quickly. Luther decided he had enough of this and grabbed the man by the collar and slammed him against the glass wall creating a spiderweb of cracks. Five almost thought he saw joy in Luther's eye.

"You're gonna tell us what we want to know or you are going to end up as a part of the sidewalk."

_ Wow, I didn't think he had it in him.  _ Five admired with a smug smirk on his face. Now that they got the man to be cooperative they were in the exact same place they were when they started.

… 

When they made it back to the academy they were immediately called over by Allison. The TV was showing the news and the current story showed the target from last night, an anonymous source gave the police all the evidence they needed to put the scumbag away. The news anchors were debating whether this was the work of the Umbrella Academy or not.

"You don't think," Ben started.

"It could have been," Allison was having a hard time wrapping her head around this.

"But then why'd he fight us?" Diego asked.

"You really didn't give 'em much of a choice Diego," Allison chastised.

"So," Klaus appeared almost out of nowhere, wearing another one of Allison's skirts along with a feather jacket, "What were you two doing?"

Five glared at him, "Trying to stop the apocalypse, something that you guys have clearly already forgotten about!"

"We haven't forgotten Five, but you are kinda the only person who knows what he's doing with this whole apocalypse thing," Ben said, lounging in one of the large armchairs.

"You know what fine," Five looked around, "Get the family together, we're going to stop the apocalypse."

… 

They ended up looking for that doctor guy again, Five just had to know who the eye belongs to. He tells them about his side business on the black market. Five keeps pressing.

"Someone has to have bought the eye already, WHO IS IT!?!?"

"I swear, I don't know!" The doctor tries to get as far away from the family as he can, but it is not far enough, Luther grabs him and throws him to the ground.

"You get one more chance before I start cutting off your fingers," Diego tells the poor frightened man, twirling a knife in his right hand. It's then that they hear it, the voice calls to them.

"Why are you hurting that poor man, he has told you all he knows, you don't have to hurt people to get what you want."

They turn around to find White standing behind them a few feet. Quickly One, Two, Three, Four, and Six get on guard Five is just confused. Again White steps forward and extends a hand toward them, "It's not too late, you can be better."

"Five, Ben, Diego, attack him at the same time he can't stop us all," Luther commands.

They rush forward at once. Tentacles attack from the right, being blocked. White dodges Luther's punch and redirects Diego's knife to slash his arm. Five breaks through first getting a good kick to the gut. White stumbles back and the wind picks up blasting Five into a wall. Ben breaks through next grabbing White and slamming White into the pavement. White gets up dodging another knife and redirecting it to stop it from killing a young boy trying to record the whole fight on his phone. Something grabs White's foot.

"Help me…" an old man split in half is glowing blue and trying to drag White down.

"Great work Klaus!" Ben cheers.

The wind picks up knocking everyone back, the ghost disappears into nothing, and White takes a threatening step forward.

"Stay back, I've got this!" Five runs forward grabbing White and disappearing in a flash of blue. Seconds later Five appears again, "Remind me to eat more than just coffee before trying to jump with another person," he mumbles falling forward and passing out.

"Great now we just have to take care of this guy," Diego said, pulling a knife toward the doctor.

"Stop Diego, I didn't sign up for ruthlessly killing people like this!" Ben shouts.

"Yeah, I didn't sign up to be raised by that monster we called a father either, but here we are," Diego argued.

"Stop!" Allison silenced the two, "I know who the eye belongs to."

… 

It's been a few days, a few horrible, disgusting, torturous days, but Hazel and Cha-Cha finally have their orders.

** _"Eliminate Allison Hargeeves"_ **


	3. This Year's Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the last encounter with White, the family is shattering apart. Worried, Five creates a backup plan. Shit happens to poor Klaus. His family cares that it does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a bit of trouble deciding what to do with Klaus. I made him sober and really had no other plans for him. I am glad to say, I am very proud of this chapter, also I have a great idea for Klaus to use in a future chapter.

Harold Jenkins was the key, he was the one that had caused the 45 worst years of Five's life. All that was left was to end him and once they stopped the apocalypse Five would find Vanya because they should be a family again. Of course, that only works if the current family members with him would stop trying to kill each other at every turn.

"You can't lead for shit," Luther argued with Diego.

"Yeah well at least I'm not a paranoid prick like Dad was!"

"It was a logical conclusion!"

"No you just can't leave anything alone!"

"Not if it gets people hurt!"

"We can handle ourselves Luther!"

"Really because White seemed to toss you around like a bean bag!"

"Like you were doing any better!"

Five couldn't stand the noise. He decided to go find somewhere quiet. Treading upstairs he overheard another conversation coming from Ben's room.

"How can we believe we're heroes Klaus? We hurt people, kill people, I don't feel like a hero."

"Well what's stopping us from leaving? Dear old Dad's popped off to play with Hitler!"

"Klaus, they are our family, I can't leave them behind!"

"Well either way, Dad didn't decide that I was worthy of his precious inheritance, so unlike you, I have to go to work!"

Klaus rushed past Five on his way down the stairs. Moving toward his own room he heard another voice coming from down the hall.

"Yes, thank you very much. You don't know how much this means to me," Allison was on the phone talking to … someone, honestly five couldn't care less. He entered his room looking around for his journal. He took a quick stock of all of his equations. "This is it! It just might work!"

…

Cha-Cha was coming back from the library after taking her time to research this Allison Hargreeves character when she saw Hazel resting against the car eating a donut.

"What are you doing?"

"Eating a donut, what does it look like?"

"Did you remember to put the do not disturb sign up this time?" She was getting tired of this job already.

"Oh shit." That was never a good sign. They rushed up the stairs to their room. The cleaner's cart was right outside.

"Get out of here!" Cha-Cha shouted into the room.

"Sorry, sorry, the do not disturb sign wasn't there so I thought I would spruce the place up, while you were gone," the voice inside called out.

"Don't care, get out," Hazel told the man inside.

"Alright, alright, geez. You don't have to be so mean," The tattooed man said grabbing his cart and going down the hall. They locked the door and Hazel laid on his bed turning on the magic fingers. "So what did you find on this Allison Hargreeves?"

"Apparently, she's a famous movie star who also happens to be a part time-"

"Shit!"

"What?"

"The briefcase is gone!"

"Shit!"

…

Klaus was sitting on the bus coming home from work. In his lap sat a black briefcase. He may have gotten over his addiction, but that doesn't mean that he wasn't still a kleptomaniac. He sat there pondering what could be in the briefcase, mumbling out his inner thoughts. "What's inside of you my friend, money, jewels, something else I could sell? I can't stand it anymore, I've just gotta know!" In a flash of blue light, there was one less passenger on the bus.

… 

Milton Green, that was it, Five's backup plan in case his current one fell through, he stayed up all night calculating this probability map. Now all he had to do was get Luther to let this happen.

"He isn't hurting anyone Five! He's just a farmer!"

"You don't get it! His death could save the whole world!"

"Dammit Five, don't do this! We have to stay together!"

"Out of my way Luther."

"Don't make me do this Five," Luther stepped over to the window and grabbed Dolores by the neck. It took some convincing, but Luther finally got Five to listen. Just as they were about to leave to find Harold Jenkins, Diego and Ben rushed past them.

"Where are you two going," Luther asked.

Ben quickly spun around and if you looked close enough you could see the fear in his eyes, "Klaus didn't come home last night and I haven't heard from him at all!"

Before anything else could be said Diego had dragged Ben out to the car and left.

"Shit," Five mumbled.

…

They found him hours later standing outside of a VFW. Something didn't seem right about him. He stumbled in as Diego parked the car outside. They jumped out and ran in after him. They found him crying in front of a board filled with pictures and memorabilia.

"Klaus, what's wrong man?" Diego worried putting a hand on Klaus's shoulder.

"You wouldn't understand," he mumbled under his breath.

"Uh, guys," Ben interrupted, "I don't think these guys like us being here." One of the vets was walking up to the brothers.

One bar fight later, the three out in Diego's car. Klaus almost cries again when his brothers start talking to him trying to understand what he was going through because they actually cared enough to sit and listen while he told them about where he has been. They ended up going back to the crappy motel where Klaus worked, but there was a problem. The entire place was surrounded by cop cars.

"What the hell happened here?" Ben asked the question on all of their minds.

"Hold on, I know these guys, let me talk to them, see what happened. You both stay here," Diego told them getting out and walking up to a bald detective.

… 

_ "You know Eudora," Diego starts. _

_ "Don't call me that," she told him with a cold stare. _

_ "Sorry, detective Patch," he corrects himself, "If you ever need any help with any of your cases I'd be happy to help." _

_ "And what would people say if they found out that the police were getting help from the Umbrella Academy?" She asks him. _

_ "What's that supposed to mean?" _

_ "You really are clueless aren't you?" He stares at her confused, "Fine, if I ever need help, you'll be the first person I call." _

_ "Thanks Eudora, I won't let you down, I promise." And Diego always kept his promises. _


	4. Crawling From the Wreckage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hazel and Cha-Cha finally show up. Everyone else is still processing emotional trauma.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer! I don't know how PTSD works, but I'm gonna try for my boi Klaus. Also, I really don't know what I'm gonna do with Hazel and Cha-Cha. I feel like I'm doing them wrong, making them feel like pushovers. Just pretend they are doing all the badass stuff they did in the show offscreen, I don't have time to directly copy it from the show.

Diego broke his promise. She needed him and he let her down, but it was so much worse. She was gone and it was all his fault. He's gonna find out who did this and end them.

These were the only things going through Diego's head when he got back into the car.

"So what happened?" Klaus asked.

Diego was silent as he started the car and put the crime scene in his rearview mirror. His brothers just stared at him, waiting for him to say something to them. It was quiet all the way back to the academy. Diego rushed inside shouting, "WHERE THE HELL IS FIVE!"

Luther, Allison, and Five were sitting in the next room. Allison jumped when she heard the shouting. Diego ran into the room and grabbed Five by the collar slamming him into one of the many bookshelves.

"Diego! Calm down!" Ben shouted, running to stop Diego.

Luther turned to Klaus, "What is going on?"

"You think I know?" Klaus snaps back.

"Diego stop! Put him down!" Allison demanded.

Reluctantly Diego dropped Five to the ground. Five picked himself up off the ground and coughed a few times.

"What the hell was that for?" He grumbled.

Diego dropped to his knees, "She's dead, they killed her. You're gonna tell me everything about your 'previous employer' and the people who they would send after you cause they just killed my best friend."

Something finally clicked for Five, "Hazel and Cha-Cha."

They all looked at him, "Who?"

… 

Hazel and Cha-Cha were sitting at the counter of Griddy's waiting for their order. Cha-Cha turned to Hazel, "So what are we going to do now?"

"We should probably continue with the mission, then the Commission would probably be more likely to forgive us for the briefcase, and if we're lucky we will find the briefcase along the way."

"Fine, we are going to the Umbrella Academy."

Cha-Cha got up and left as Agnes returned with their order. "Did your friend leave already?"

"Yeah, it's our job. Sometimes I wish I could take a break, maybe leave this all behind, slow down for a while."

Agnes looked sympathetically at Hazel, "I know what you mean, sometimes this place gets so busy I can hardly keep up. Sometimes I wonder would it be too much to ask for everything to just slow down."

"Well, I'll see you later then," Hazel got up and grabbed the donuts.

"I'd really like that," Agnes said before Hazel left to follow Cha-Cha.

… 

"So now we have to worry about time travelling assassins and the end of the world?" Ben was getting sick of all this.

"When did things get so complicated?" Luther sighed.

Five quickly turned to Luther, "How naive are you? Not everything is black and white, good and evil, I mean look at yourselves!"

"What do you mean?" Diego spoke up.

"Haven't you read the news at all? How thick are you people?" Five was having trouble understanding how he was related to these morons. Before Five could get another word out the front door's lock came rolling into the room.

"What the hell?" Diego looked toward the hallway. Two figures were walking in, one in a pink dog mask and the other in a blue bear mask. They pointed their guns at the six and open fired.

"Shit!" Diego breathed out, diving behind a couch.

"Split up!" Luther called over the noise.

They all bolted to different rooms.

Hazel turned to Cha-Cha, "I'll go after Five you get the girl."

Hazel turned to chase after Five, once he got into the next room Diego jumped at him. He threw a few punches before he looked up, Hazel was unfazed. He grabbed Diego and threw him into the main hallway. Luther ran up to Hazel thrusting his shoulder into the man. Hazel stumbled backwards before regaining his balance, he turned and whipped his gun at Luther. The butt of the gun hit him in between the eyes. Luther lost his balance and Hazel took this time to rush forward and tackle him. Five appeared next to them tapping Hazel on the shoulder. He turned and swung a fist at Five which was quickly dodged as Five reappeared behind Hazel. This gave Luther enough time to get up and hit Hazel across the face. Hazel grabbed his gun opening fire on the two causing them to take cover.

…

Meanwhile Cha-Cha had followed Allison up the stairs. Allison turned around to punch the intruder. Cha-Cha easily blocked this and kicked Allison in the gut. Before she could take another step Ben came barreling down the hall and crashed into Cha-Cha. She quickly threw him off. Ben released his tentacles and they whipped around forcing Cha-Cha to back up. She pulled her gun and opened fire on Ben. His tentacles quickly covered him grabbing objects to put between him and the bullets. Out of nowhere Cha-Cha pulled a gun and opened fire on Allison. She covered her face and prepared for the worst, but it never came. The bullets were seemingly deflected by thin air never even getting close to Allison. By now Ben had grabbed Cha-Cha and thrown her back down the stairs and into the main hall.

They eventually managed to back the two into the same room. The two somehow managed to get even more guns and had opened fire on five of the siblings. Klaus ran into the room and saw that his family was losing ground. In an instant he was in the academy the next he was back in Vietnam. It kept happening to the point where he couldn't tell them apart.

"LEAVE THEM ALONE!" Klaus screamed. The room dropped to a chill and seven blue figures appeared, all different ages, but they were all in similar military uniforms. They were armed with a variety of guns, one guy appeared to have a flamethrower. The small squad started blasting away at the assassins while his siblings stared in awe, and two with concern.

"Shit!" Hazel exclaimed. The two were forced to back up giving the others their opening. Diego stood up and started throwing knives, Ben also released his tentacles which whipped around slapping the assassins guns away from them. "Cha-Cha! It's time to go!" Hazel shouts. The two turn and run for the front doors, disappearing into the night.

Ben turned back to Klaus as his blue squad of ghosts were facing away. Klaus was staring longingly at the leader of the troops with tears in his eyes, it was probably Dave if Ben had to guess. "Klaus that was amazing!" Klaus closed his eyes and fell forward.

"Klaus? KLAUS!"


	5. Six A.M. Salvation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Academy is still recovering from their run in with Hazel and Cha-Cha, but hey, trauma has never stopped them before, and Harold Jenkins is still out there. They're going to have to do something about that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you guys think of what I did with Klaus' powers?

Klaus woke up in the academy's infirmary with Mom, Diego, and Ben sitting at his side.

"Is everyone here just to see me? I'm flattered," Klaus spoke up.

"Klaus, do you remember what happened?" Ben was giving him the look. Shit, what happened? What did he do to deserve _ that _look. Then it hit him. He remembered and a tear rolled down his face.

"Klaus, what's wrong honey?" Mom looked at him, worried as always. She was the best.

"Nothing Mom, I'm fine," he didn't like lying, but it was his best option right now, he didn't really want to talk about it right now.

"Klaus, I didn't know you could summon so many ghosts at once." Ah Diego, always somewhat clueless when it comes to emotions.

"I didn't either." It was a simple and true answer.

"Are you sure you're ok Klaus?" Ben just wouldn't leave this alone.

"Shut your pie hole, Ben!" Klaus snapped, "Said with love!"

Just then Five popped in. "Oh good, you're up Klaus, just in time. We're gonna go take care of Harold Jenkins now, so get up."

"I think I'm good right here," Klaus protested.

Five stood there shocked for a few moments, "Fine, whatever. I don't have time for this, Ben Diego let's go."

Reluctantly, the two stood and followed Five out of the room.

"Fine, leave me here all by myself," Klaus turned, "So how have you been Mom?"

… 

Allison looked around at her siblings. All of them had cuts and bruises from the run in with Hazel and Cha-Cha, all of them except her. For some inexplicable reason, by some invisible force, she was left unharmed by the attack. Now they were all planning on throwing themselves back into the line of fire. Who knew what this Harold Jenkins could do, he was the cause of the apocalypse according to Five, he could have a nuclear bomb on standby or maybe even powers. They were all so willing to throw themselves into danger, but the public never seemed to care. She has had enough. Her family was just going to fall apart more if she didn't do anything.

"I'm not going," she stood up.

"What?" Five stared at her, "What do you mean you're not going?"

"Yeah, Klaus gets a pass because he overused his power, what's your excuse? Too worried about losing your next film?" Diego accused

"NO! That's not it! I can't stand it!" She shouts, attempting to make them understand, "We don't know how dangerous this guy is. You could get seriously hurt. I don't want to have to go to another funeral anytime soon!"

"No one will be left to go to any funerals if we don't stop this guy!" Five shouts back, "Come on, we're leaving!"

At that they stand up and start leaving, Luther looks back, "It'll be okay Allison, we're gonna be fine. We're together after all." With that they leave.

Fine, who cares what she says. Who needs them, she has more important things to do. She has finally found Vanya!

…

By the time they arrived at Harold Jenkins house, it was late afternoon. They all stepped out and approached the place. They entered easy enough, the house didn't really have much security, but no security system could really stop the superpowered siblings. Breaking in was easy finding Harold was not. The house was empty, nothing but the essentials, nothing to show that he was some criminal mastermind or terrorist of any kind.

"Guys," Diego called from the attic, "You're gonna want to see this." 

They all rushed into the attic only to find themselves. There were pictures, action figures and other carvings of the Umbrella Academy all of them had their faces scratched off, or melted, or burned. It was all pretty disturbing, well except for the ones of Reginald, they were all better than what he deserved. They finally heard the sound of someone getting back to the house. Two and Six rushed to hide while One and Five went to go confront Harold Jenkins, presumably. The man didn't seem like much, short, dark hair, scrawny, and he definitely didn't look like a threat. 

When he turned around they saw it, the gauze covering his left eye. Five knew it was him, there was no other option, this was the man who causes the apocalypse. Jenkins murmured, "Shit."

"So this is the guy who causes the apocalypse?" Luther asked, almost too casually.

"Yep, stop him and the world keeps turning," It was almost too easy.

Diego left his hiding place and threw a knife aimed straight for the man's head. It slipped harmlessly past his ear, embedding itself into a cabinet just behind him. The door burst in shortly after. White stepped through practically glowing with power. Still, as always, a hand was extended to the four, a hand that promised an end to their conflict.

"Don't try to stop us White," Luther's voice was cold and sharp, "We're saving the world."

"It doesn't have to be this way," The voice called out.

"What are you talking about?" Five called, still determined to end all of this, "He causes the apocalypse, it has to end."

"You don't have to hurt him!" The echoing voice responded.

"No, Five is right, this ends here and now!" Luther's voice, strong and stable, brought the room into focus. It was White, that's what was stopping them from saving the world. To stop the apocalypse they didn't just have to kill Harold Jenkins, they had to get rid of White too.

White lifted a pale hand, a rush of force, knocked the brothers into the wall. Five was the first one to get back up. He quickly jumped behind White, grabbed the collar of the crisp white suit throwing White to the floor. A rush of wind threw Five away before anything else could happen. White didn't see Ben's tentacles before they were throwing White into the walls. Diego's knives were still bouncing around uselessly, so he decided to rush White head on. This caught White off guard, Diego broke through White's defence knocking White to the ground. A light fixture dropped from the ceiling shattering on Diego's back knocking him to the ground. Luther grabbed White crashing through a wall. He held White to the ground.

"Do it now!" Luther commanded.

Five grabbed one of Diego's knives and rushed toward Harold.

"No! It doesn't have to be this way! You're better than this! You still have a chance! You don't have to hurt people! You can change!" White cried from the floor.

"We're saving everything!" Five shouted back. He drove the knife into Harold's chest and twisted. The life faded from his eye and he slumped to the floor.

"NO!" The wind whipped through the house, windows shattered, plates broke, walls shook and cracked. In the deep darkness of White's visor two eyes of white glowed and shone through. Luther shot through the house landing in the street. White stood up removing and opening the black case from its back, removing a violin. The violin turned white in those pale hands. All it took was one note, the whole house crumbled around them, crushing the three inside.

"There is no redemption for you. You don't deserve it. You are as evil as the people say." A cold, broken voice responded from beneath the helmet, "You can't be saved."


	6. Losing My Religion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allison finally goes to find Vanya.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning! This chapter includes themes of depression and suicidal thoughts and actions.

Allison walked up to the apartment. They were so involved with their own shit that they never realized their sister was in the same city. Why was this so hard for her. It was Vanya. It was her sister. She could do this. But what would she say. She'd apologize. Then she'd apologize again. She'd say she was sorry for being such a bad sister, for causing her to run away. She would ask why she never came back. She'd ask about her book, why she wrote it. Most importantly she just wants to know how her sister has been.

She knocked on the door and waited. There was no answer. She waited and knocked again.

"Vanya," still no answer, "Vanya, it's me, Allison. I know it's been a while and you probably don't want to see me, but please, I just want to talk."

There was still no answer.

She broke in. The apartment was small and cozy. Allison loved it. It was smaller than what she was used to, but that just made it feel less lonely than the academy or those fancy Hollywood houses. She looked around seeing a red typewriter sitting on a table. She didn't see a violin anywhere, but there was plenty of sheet music so she assumed that Vanya was out playing somewhere. What she wouldn't give to hear Vanya play again, it had been so long. She moved toward the kitchen it was barely stocked. Was Vanya getting enough food? Has it just been a while? Is something wrong?

She managed to move past into the bedroom. Looking in the closet Allison found two garment bags, one had a crisp black suit, the other was empty. The rest of the clothing was all sweaters which seemed like they'd be too big for Vanya. The next thing she saw made her worry. Lying next to her bed was a pistol, she never cared to learn which was which like their father always wanted. She checked it, it was loaded, beneath it was a note.

_ I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's all my fault, I'm sorry, it shouldn't have gone like this. I still have nightmares. I want to go kill him, I know what he did and what he wants to do, but I don't want to hurt people anymore. I can't shake this feeling, like it's all going to happen again. I'm so sorry Allison, I love you, never forget that. _

This shook Allison to her core. At least by the looks of it, mostly all of the dust, she hadn't done this recently, which meant Allison could still help her. Why would Vanya do something like this. She has to find her. Just before she was about to leave she saw something on the table. It was a newspaper.

_ City still recovering from devastating damages caused by the Umbrella Academy. 50 confirmed dead. 74 in critical condition. How long will this rain of terror last? _

Allison stopped in her tracks. Is this what the people thought of them, were they the villains. That damn old man had turned them into monsters while convincing them they were heroes.

A picture of the six of them was on the front page circled in red with the word  _ HELP _ written next to it.

… 

When Luther woke he was covered in dust. He ached all over as he pushed himself up. His other siblings were nowhere to be found. 

"Diego!" … Nothing

"Five!" … Nothing 

"Ben!" … Nothing

Wait! There! The rubble started shifting falling and crumbling at the power of Ben's tentacles. Luther ran over, powered by fear, fear of losing his brothers, and fear of what Allison would do to him if one of them didn't make it back, tearing at the rubble digging out his brothers. Diego and Five were covered by the bentacles. The two coughed kicking dust up around them.

"Five! Diego!" Luther was overjoyed, they were all fine, "Ben that was amazing! Ben?"

Ben wasn't moving. A piece of pipe had skewered him through the chest. The dark part of Luther's mind thought that if Klaus was here he'd make a joke about calamari on a stick. "Five, we need to get him back to the academy!"

Five was looking scared and lost. Luther felt sorry for him, this must be hard after what he witnessed in the apocalypse. Diego snapped his head to Five, "What are you waiting for?! Get him out of here!!"

Five snapped out of his deer-caughts-in-the-headlights look. He grabbed Ben and screamed. They were surrounded by a blinding blue light. Then they were gone.

"Diego," Luther looked defeated, "This doesn't feel like a win."

"I don't think it was."

…

Klaus was sitting with Mom "recovering", which just meant Mom left every hour or so to make more food for him. It didn't last because the room lit up, practically shone blue. Five appeared with Ben over his shoulder, blood was dripping on to the floor, but Klaus couldn't tell you whose. Mom rushed over grabbing a gurney which Five laid Ben on right before collapsing himself into Mom's arms. Klaus was out of bed before you could say "christ on a cracker!" He grabbed a pair of gloves and ran to help Mom save Ben. He wouldn't let Ben haunt him, he didn't need Ben following him around 24/7, not if he could help it.

It was sundown by the time Diego and Luther got back. They passed by a worried looking Five and Allison. The two rushed up to the infirmary. Looking in they saw Klaus, his gloves covered in the warm blood of their brother, but there he was, Ben was there barely conscious but alive. It was a miracle, it almost looked like there was never a wound at all.

Mom walked up to the two crying boys, "It's okay dears, your brother is going to be fine, he just needs sleep."

"Thanks Mom," Diego wrapped her in a hug, Mom's hugs were the best, sure she was a robot but they were warm and comforting and almost made you forget that part, "We'd all probably be dead without you. I feel like I don't say this enough, I love you Mom, we all do."

"I love you too, Diego, but don't thank me. Klaus was the one who saved Ben." The two both turned and stared wide eyed at the brother they had underestimated all these years. Luther grabbed Klaus and wrapped him up in a hug, Diego following right behind. The three brothers made their way downstairs, feeling closer than ever in that big lonely house. They told the good news to the Five and Allison. They all cried some more and Klaus had never felt more loved than in this moment with his family, and oh, there in the back Dave was giving him that small smile he always had when he was proud of Klaus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Vanya, but there is no way she can be mentally stable after everything. I wish I could write her to be happy, but I can't do that right now. For people who want to see things from Vanya's perspective, it is coming, just not right now.


	7. Exit Music (For a Film)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final showdown approaches, but a few old faces refuse to be left out of the finale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally going to be the last chapter before I realised that I spent too much time on the fight with the Commission. I didn't want to rush through the scene that I made this whole story for so I decided to save it for another chapter. If you haven't figured it out yet, I named the chapters after songs that either I was listening to when I wrote the chapter, or a song that I thought fit with the theme/mood of the chapter. Feel free to give them a listen.

Hazel and Cha-Cha were still recovering from their previous loss when the room slowed to a crawl before stopping. The Handler busted through the door of the motel.

"You couldn't even handle one mission. All you had to do was kill one person and you couldn't even do that," the disappointment was clear in the Handler's smooth, honey voice.

"Boss!" This wasn't how Hazel had wanted this to go, "We tried, she had help."

"What, those superpowered man-children of a family? That should have been easy for people as talented as you," she was already bored of this conversation.

Cha-Cha was posted off, they were never briefed about the family, "What Hazel is trying to say is-"

"Nevermind, it's clear to me that this is going to require more than just you two," The Handler looked around, "And I see you don't have your briefcase either, well if you can complete this mission I'll think about letting you come back and escape the coming apocalypse. This time you have the full force of the commision behind you. Don't let me down again!"

With that time returned to normal and the Handler was gone as suddenly as she showed up. Well shit, they better do this right.

…

Ben had just gotten out of bed and he was already running down the stairs.

"Guys look at this!" Allison shouted out from her seat by the TV.

Klaus gave him a hug when he entered the room. The two walked over to the TV to see what had their siblings so entranced. The news was on showing massive destruction in the city, windows shattered, buildings in ruin and in the center of it all was White, fingers dancing across the violin as beautiful waves of power flowed from it knocking the buildings down and tearing lampposts from the ground creating a storm of rubble.

"Shit this is it," Five was scared, he thought it was all over but it was only the beginning, "This is the apocalypse. Dammit! Come on, there's no more time!"

Pogo walked into the room seeing all of the family together, he saw the TV and paled, "Dear god."

Luther turned to look at the old monkey they all saw as more of a father than the old man was, "It's gonna be okay Pogo, we can stop this!"

It was at this moment that they heard a crash from the other end of the room. Grace was standing there in shock, hands covering her mouth, standing above shards of dishes that had shattered when they were dropped.

"Mom! What's wrong?" Diego rushed over grabbing her by the shoulders, worry in his eyes.

"There's something I need to tell you kids," she stared at Pogo with a look of guilt.

"Grace don't!" Pogo warned her. 

"No! Let her finish Pogo!" Ben stood up, shock the poor old monkey.

"It's time for the last of your fathers secrets to come out! It's about-"

The windows all crashed inwards as hundreds of gunmen started climbing into the house led by Hazel and Cha-Cha. The family all ran for cover. Bullets flew over their heads. Knives flew out from behind the stairs impaling multiple hitmen. The bentacles lashed out tearing gunmen in half and flinging the pieces back at the other invaders. Five had grabbed an assortment of pens and pencils from the table and had started getting to work removing as many assassins as he could. Luther charged and tackled Hazel to the ground beating him over the head. Allison whispered a few words and six gunmen turned and opened fire on Cha-Cha and some of the other hitmen. Klaus had two glowing soldiers at his back, quickly grabbing one of the fallen hitmen's guns and charging in. Diego came charging out from behind the stairs and slash and cut through the six men standing there.

"Diego!" Allison shouted across the battlefield, she seemed panicked. Diego turned around to see a hitman holding a gun to his head. With a thwack the man slumped forward and collapsed. Grace was standing behind the man with a frying pan. "Don't you dare touch my son!" Grace was all fury.

"Thanks Mom!" Diego truly appreciated the help, but it wasn't safe, "Go hide, we'll get you when it's over!"

"Okay sweetie, be safe," she was truly worried for what was to come, but Diego calmed her with a simple, "We will Mom, I love you."

Diego slipped back into the chaos of the fight. Luther was thrown right past him. Klaus was pinned down. Allison was locked in a brawl with Cha-Cha. Ben was still going strong. Five was somewhere in there if you looked close enough, it was one of those blink and you'll miss it moments. Diego grabbed whatever he could throwing them into the fray. A tray smacked into the men pinning Klaus down. Shard of broken plates slashed across Hazel's back. A lamp smashed into Cha-Cha's face. The bentacles grabbed Luther and threw him back into the fight, knocking down ten hitmen and throwing his fist into Hazel's jaw. Allison had managed to get enough of an advantage over Cha-Cha to steal one of her guns. Five, Klaus, and his men charged out from their hiding place cleaning out the rest of the hitmen. Allison pistol whipped Cha-Cha, knocking her to the ground.

"Wait!" Hazel cried as Luther, Diego, and Five surrounded him, "I didn't sign up for this! I'm done, I promise I won't come after your family again Five. I quit! The commision is bullshit."

Five stared him down, he took two steps forward before relaxing his posture, "What made you change your mind?"

"I'm sick of all of the running around, I want to do something for myself for once. I'm tired, and I want freedom." Hazel was telling the truth, it looked like he hadn't slept in days, Five saw part of himself in the giant.

"You have to answer one question first," Five stared him down, the room was silent as the others stared in confusion.

"What is it?" Hazel was ready for this all to be over.

"Which one of you was the trigger man for detective patch?" Diego looked shocked, on the inside he was extremely thankful to have a brother like Five.

"Hazel don't you dare!" Cha-Cha roared from her spot on the floor.

"Trigger woman, here you can take the guns too, they will show the ballistics," he handed five their firearms and walked out the front door.

"So Diego, what are we gonna do to her?" Luther looked down at the snarling woman.

"We do what Eudora would have wanted. We have the gun, we give it to the police and get her locked up forever," Diego didn't seem happy, he just looked sorry for himself.

"Diego?" A voice called from behind him.

It couldn't be, could it?

Diego turned around and there was Patch smiling at him, Diego ran up to her and she hugged him. Diego looked at Klaus, his hands were glowing, and mouthed, "Thank you."

Klaus looked at him like he was saying, "Why are you wasting your time with me? You have a girl to talk to." Diego laughed before breaking down in Eudora's arms.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I wasn't there for you."

"No Diego, it was my fault, I didn't call you. I should have, but it doesn't matter now. You made the right choice, you can change, go prove it to the world."

Diego just held her tighter. She leaned up and kissed him whispering as she faded away, "Go on, you have a world to save."

Diego stood there and cried for a few more moments before his family came up hugged him.

"Come one," Five rushed them along, " We have to go stop the apocalypse."

Diego wiped his eyes, "You're right, let's go!"

…

They rushed past the fallen buildings following the trail of destruction which appeared to be heading toward the Icarus Theatre. They saw White at the end of the street. White eyes glowing from beneath the helmet, except this time glowing white trails flowed beneath the eyes like tears down White's face. This time there would be no words. No offer of an end to the conflict. No proffered hand in friendship. No pleas to change for the better. Just a war. A fight for the fate of humanity. It didn't matter what the people thought about them, they thought they were villains, maybe they were, maybe they weren't, but they knew, just once, just this once, they would be heroes. 

Five rushed in to stab White instead he was blown back, being caught by Luther. Ben pushed through the wind as lightning flashed in the distance. His tentacles whipped out hitting White across the helmet cracking it. Luther put Five down and ran in to help. Diego charged in as well, but neither were able to land a hit on White. Klaus had summoned his squad of soldiers who started blasting away. Only one bullet made it through bouncing off of White's helmet causing it to snap backwards. Luther took this chance to punch White across the face sending White flying through a building. Suddenly the tune White played on the violin reached a crescendo, shards of glass, pieces of brick, the whole ruins of the building lifted from the ground blasting toward the family throwing them to the dirt. Allison stood from her spot, practically unscathed and looked around at the carnage, ruined buildings, destroyed cars, all objects, she didn't see a single body in all of this destruction, what she did see was the news on one of those TVs in the store front. The breaking news was them, the Umbrella Academy, "heroically fighting to stop the end of the world."

Lost in her reverie, Allison had missed whatever orders or plan Luther had created. Five, Ben, and Klaus rushed White from the front, while Luther and Diego charged from the sides. With a swipe from White's bow, white light struck her siblings lifting them into the air. The ground started shaking the few buildings which had harrowed their way through the storm and were still standing crumbled around them. White appeared to be sucking the energy out of her siblings, they started looking frail, almost skeletal. Allison had to do something. She couldn't get close or else she might end up like her brothers, there was only one option. Allison reached into her pocket and pulled out a gun, Vanya's gun, only one bullet so she had to be perfect. She took aim.

** _Bang!_ **

Crimson red tainted the pure white of the suit, creating an almost beautiful pattern across the fabric. Her siblings fell to the ground around her. Allison ran forward to check on them when she heard something. All of the power in the air flowed back into White as the violin fell to the ground, the storm faded and the night sky cleared. Then a flash of white light.

White's helmet shattered, falling to the earth below.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you know, I will not have an author's note in the next chapter so that the mood and the flow don't get interrupted by my incessant ramblings. The next chapter is going to be really sad, I almost cried writing it and I am a monster that didn't cry after Endgame, so that should give you some insight. I wrote the chapter while listening to Mary by Big Thief, so yeah, be ready. It's been a pleasure going on this wild ride with you folk. Thanks for all your comments along the way.


	8. Mary

Vanya had run away when she was 13, a few months after Five jumped to the future. She stopped taking her medication a few months after that. She couldn't handle it, she was the only one who remembered. She had destroyed the world, the others tried to go back to change things, but here she was, the only one who made it back. The guilt ate her from the inside. She couldn't handle being in the big empty house being ignored by her family again, even though it's what she thought she deserved after everything.

Apparently things only got worse from there on. Without her Reginald Hargreeves was harsher than ever, he turned the family of heroes into monsters. The world thought they were villains. Vanya was the only one who saw it, they were still trying to do good, but that monster of a man had corrupted them. She couldn't stand by and watch this happen, she had to help. She couldn't show her face to them, not after what she did to them. She bought herself a white suit, similar to the one from her previous timeline, she got a white motorcycle helmet to match. She started training with her powers. Simple things at first, floating objects, moving things from across the room

Eventually she decided it was time to help her family. She moved back to the city. She got first chair in the orchestra at the Icarus Theatre. By some miracle her family still hadn't found her, maybe they did give up on her. One day she saw them on the news again, she decided it was better now than never and went to go confront then.

She approached them in the dark alley where they were making a plan to attack the office of some mob boss. They saw her and she reached out her hand, she tried to speak, but no words left her mouth. She wanted to tell them that it was ok, they didn't have to be perfect, but they could be better, she could help them, but seeing them again she froze. She barely registered when Luther had walked up and raised his fist. She should have thought this through. Of course it would go like this, she was dangerous, she had to be put down. She lashed out on accident, but it saved her life, tossing Luther back before he could hit her.

She ended up back in her apartment, covered in bruises. Without her to get in their way Hargreeves must have upped their training schedule. She always just held them back, it didn't matter what happened to the timeline, she always weighed them down. No! She could help them. Make them the heroes she remembered them being.

The cycle continued for weeks. She would be beaten, the Umbrella Academy would complete their mission, and the public would look at them more and more like monsters. Nothing she did ever worked. One day, she never remembers, she goes out and buys a gun, she loads one bullet and throws the rest away, she was only going to use it once anyway, so what would be the point. She sat there for three seconds too long, staring at the pistol in her hands. Her eyes shifted and landed on her violin. She became more determined than ever. She tossed the gun in a drawer and instead picked up her violin and began to play.

Everything was fine. That is, until he showed up, Leonard, Harold, whatever his name is. She took one look at him and almost brought the whole city block down. She ran from him as fast as she could, she didn't stop until she was in the forest. She let it all out every emotion she had bottled up inside. Now there was a clearing in the middle of the forest, and Vanya sat broken in the middle of that. That night once she returned to her apartment and took out the gun again. The thoughts in her head were running rampant. You're dangerous, you hurt Allison, you destroyed the world, you don't deserve a second chance. She scribbled out an apology note, because she couldn't bring herself to admit what it truly was. She stopped once more and made a choice, she just had to be stronger. From then on she trained nonstop until she would be as strong as her siblings, stronger even, and she would be the one in control.

The first time she beat them was the best night she had had in awhile. She gave the evidence to the police and it made the news was a personal victory, she could show them that they didn't have to hurt people to do good things. Even better the public thought that the Umbrella Academy had done this, which made trying to clean up their image easier. She was going to save them. She did save them, she was there watching from a distance as the bullets flew through the academy, she wouldn't dare let them touch Allison.

It didn't last. She started losing. She was stronger, sure. She had started talking to them, but it didn't work. Her words meant nothing to them, as always. She could beat them easily, but she couldn't stop them from hurting people, from being what their father had made them.

She gave up. There was no chance of saving them. They wouldn't listen, they wouldn't be beaten, they wouldn't stop. So, Vanya gives up, she releases all of her pent up emotions. She takes out her violin and watches as the building falls crushing her family beneath it. Once she had gotten away she broke down, tears fell like rain, she had hurt them again. Even when everyone else thought her family were monsters, she was still the biggest monster of them all. There was one option left. She didn't trust herself anymore, but she trusted her family. It never worked out well in the past, but it would be different this time. She could save her heroes and protect the world all at once.

Tears still fresh on her face she walked back to where this all started. Back to the theatre where everything had ended last time. She played and let it all flow, buildings crashed down around her, cars were crushed and bent as she passed. She made sure no one was hurt, and she didn't dare to touch the news helicopter watching the whole thing. How else would her family find her? She waited, and waited, and waited, until finally they showed up. She loved them all, but she had to make this feel real. But then Allison was there, and she couldn't hurt her, not after what she did last time. Then they struck, it was so similar to the last time. Diego and Luther from the sides, Klaus and Five from the front. She felt her control slip through her fingers. She was going to kill them, it was all going to happen again. God, she was sorry, so, so  _ sorry. _ But Allison was there, beautiful Allison, there to save her from going through it all again. There in her hand was Vanya's gun and it was perfect. Allison was strong enough to do what Vanya couldn't, she could save them.

** _Bang!_ **

…

Allison watched as long dark hair flowed down Vanya's shoulders, mixing with the red and white of her suit creating a captivating masterpiece. Soft brown eyes stared back at Allison sneaking quick looks to the others, but always coming back to her. A small trail of blood rolled down from the corner of her small smile.

** _"VANYA!" _ **

Allison bolted forward to catch her sister's falling body. She felt the tiny weight in her arms, gripping tighter, and she screamed as loud as she could. Her throat was raw and burning by the time she heard it...

_ "Allison…" _

Allison looked down into her sister's eyes. Silver shining tears rained from above onto Vanya's pale face. Their brothers shook from their stupor, they ran forward and fell beside Allison around Vanya.

"No, Vanya, No. Why? Why would you do this?" Klaus whimpered, tears smeared his makeup, creating dark rivers down his face.

"Don't you see … you are heroes again … you saved the world," the light in Vanya's eyes was starting to fade.

"Vanya,  _ please _ , stop talking," Diego begged her, "we can save her," Diego turned to Five, "Five! We have to get her to a hospital!"

Five slammed his fist into the dirt, "There's no time!" Five shook with sobs.

"No! We can save her! It can't end this way!" Ben was desperate, he wouldn't let anyone die on his watch, not again, it can't happen again.

"Please … stop … just stop … you were always my heroes … now the whole world sees what I see … heroes," Vanya's breathing was getting slower, her suit was soaked through, "Heroes with daddy issues," she laughed to herself, coughing up blood in the process.

"Please Vanya! Stop!" Luther cried, he was Number One he protected his team, but that didn't matter anymore, he was Luther Hargreeves, and he didn't let his family die. He couldn't let this happen.

"Please … just this once … let me be your hero … just once," her eyes were slipping closed.

"Vanya! No! Stay with us! Please!" Allison was holding her tight, the blood had started soaking into her clothes, but she didn't care, she just wanted her sister, "Vanya, I'd give it all away, the fame, the money, the powers, all of it, if it meant I could have you with us, with me."

The response was a weak, " _ really? _ "

Allison cried into her sister's soft hair, "Yes. Of course. Yes."

Diego looked Vanya in her eyes, his own eyes brimming with unshed tears, "There isn't a single person here who wouldn't."

They all gave a solemn nod.

"You don't know how happy that makes me…"

Then she was gone.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion. First responders arrived on the scene. Rushing to search for any people buried in the rubble. In the middle of it all, the Icarus Theatre stood. The wind blew a flyer past the crying family, a flyer with their sister on it, smiling, truly happy, for a concert that they would never get to see.

That day the world saw the Umbrella Academy in a new light. They were heroes. No one would remember the small figure that was always trying to help them, the true hero that day, none but the eight people that formed their mixed and matched patch work of a family.

That day the world saw them as heroes. They knew they weren't. They were a broken family that just wanted their sister back. But they'd try, they'd try to be heroes …

For the chair at the table, that would never be filled again…

For the room, that would be even more empty than before… 

For the violin, forever to be silent… 

For their sister, who saw the heroes in them… 

For their sister, who was their hero… 

For Vanya, who loved them… 

For Vanya, whom they loved.

… 

_ I don't care if anyone remembers me. There really isn't anything special about me. I'm ordinary, just like everyone says. It's not my place to be special. That's my siblings' job. They deserve it, they deserve everything, they are true heroes. They walked through the fires of Sir Reginald Hargreeves and came through stronger for it. These are the people who never gave up. Through all of the abuse and torture, they stayed strong, they never stopped trying to be better. I love them, not because they are special, but because they are my family. It just isn't my place to be like them.  _

_ I'm just ordinary …  _

_ … and I think I'm okay with that. _

_ - _ an excerpt from " _ Ordinary: My life as Vanya Hargreeves _ ", never published.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading!
> 
> PS: I am willing to write a happier ending if you all wish. Leave a comment to let me know!


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